The present invention relates in general to symbol reading devices and in particular to bar code reading devices.
As shown in FIG. 1 an existing bar code reader 10 typically includes an image capture device 110 and a bar code reading station 120 at which a bar code data storage medium may be located. Modern bar code readers may read data either from passive bar code data storage media, which may use actively powered displays, such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or cell phones, or from passive bar code data storage media which may have bar code data printed thereon, such as credit cards or printed tickets. There is no way to know for sure which type of medium will be used by a user to store the bar code to be read.